Newburyport Treehuggers: Barry Connell, Jim McCarthy and the Eigerman Family

         Friends of Newburyport Trees has introduced its Treehugger Fundraising Campaign to support the Tree Commission's goal to protect and plant more street trees in Newburyport. Generations to come will enjoy and benefit from a beautiful green canopy across the city.  
     If you are looking for a birthday gift for a friend or family member, we will arrange to come take a photo of the designated person posed with their favorite tree anywhere in the Greater Newburyport area. With a suggested donation of $50, the picture will be added to our newly launched website and also posted on our Facebook page and blog. Alternately, you can submit your own photo with a tree including a brief statement of its history and/or significance to you or your family. 

Jim McCarthy with his favorite tree, a Commemorative Sugar Maple he planted with his dad in 2005 at his Russia Street home.  Then only three inches in diameter, the tree now provides plenty of shade for relaxing with family and friends in their Adirondack chairs

    

  

    Friends of Newburyport Trees' first official Treehugger is Jim McCarthy who devotes much of his time, energy and money to Newburyport. Jim is a pilot for Delta Airlines but when the airlines industry was struggling post 9/11, he started an investment firm, Saltbox Financials. Although Saltbox Financial donated to FoNT for the purchase and planting of a White Oak at the entrance to the Little River Nature Trail and for the beautification project at Rt. 1 Traffic Circle, there is no sign advertising his company at either location. The surplus of signs in public ways is Jim's nemesis. In fact, he has made it his mission to improve the scenery by working with MassDOT, Senator Ives and Mayor Holaday to remove at least a third of the signs on Storey Avenue and the intersection of Route One and Low St. As Jim says, "The culture of signage needs to change."
  Jim personally sees that the new plantings his company donated to the city are watered regularly, arriving with his traveling watering system pictured in last entry of this blog. He also serves as chair of the Planning Board.
 
 

The Commemorative Sugar Maple is a hardy variety that is able to withstand the nearby salting of the streets in Winter. Jim is also proud of the barn he designed with his wife. 

     Thanks in large part to Barry Connell, our longest serving Councilor-at-large, Newburyport trees will have a little more support from the city budget. Barry introduced an order to replace trees removed from public property. It was passed at a May city council meeting with an amendment to enforce only as funds allow. Until this year, The Tree Commission has operated by volunteers without a budget, relying on grants and private donations. The Highway Department has now prioritized collaboration with the Tree Commission to plant 40 new street trees in FY 2017, supported by the mayor and council with an increase in the tree maintenance budget of $20,000 (from $34,500 to $54,500) Mayor Holaday also appropriated a $10,000 line item for the planting and maintenance of trees throughout city parks, a small investment for tremendous long term gain. The absorption of CO2 and storm water that trees provide will save money above and beyond their aesthetic value.
     When Barry is not hugging trees, serving his constituents, or working at his full time job, he trains for the Pan-Mass Challenge Bike-a-thon to support The Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

 

Barry Connell hugging his Japanese Maple, a fond reminder of his favorite tree at his ancestral home in New Jersey. He and his wife, Susan planted the tiny sapling thirty years ago shortly after they purchased their Woodland Street home.

Barry Connell's second favorite tree, a Copper Beech across the street. 

This Hawthorne Tree planted in front of Barry Connell's house has been the unfortunate victim of Winter Moths. The tree, fondly nicknamed Nathaniel also suffers from Scoliosis despite the family's intervention with stakes. 

     Sincere appreciation also goes to Jared and Andrea Eigerman who have donated generously to Friends of Newburyport Trees to cover the cost of the planting, watering and maintenance of a new Cherry Tree on the south side of The Bartlet Mall. Andrea and Jared both devote countless hours of their time to the city. While Jared is our Ward 2 Councilor and chair of the Ad-hoc Waterfront Committee, Andrea chairs the Bartlet Mall Commission and supports The Newburyport Parks Conservancy, its fund-raising mechanism. Don't miss their July 2 Blues Festival on the waterfront from 4-8 P.M!
   The Eigermans share a backyard with the Horan family at 83-85 High Street. The family of  Dr. Howard Rogers and wife, Dr. Councilman who resided there from roughly 1930 through 1980 recently asked Jared about the Copper Beech Tree pictured below behind the Eigermans. The tree is their fondest memory of this home.  
    Jared discovered another former homeowner, Claudette Moore whom he met to return a piece of mail delivered to their address had placed a conservation restriction on the tree, now so large that cable ties are necessary to support one of the limbs. It was likely planted in the early 1800's when the home was a private school for boys and girls known as The Newburyport Academy.

Meet The Eigerman Family: Imre, Jared, Beatrix, Andrea and Ted in front of a Copper Beech Tree in their shared backyard with the Horan Family at 83 and 85 High Street. 

Copper Beech Trees have the best bark for carving your name or initials.  Many of the neighborhood kids, past and present have taken full advantage!

     All donations to the 2016 Newburyport Treehugger Fundraiser are tax deductible  Checks payable to Friends of Newburyport Trees can be sent to Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950 or visit our website, www.fontrees.org to donate through PayPal. Please consider becoming an official Newburyport Treehugger or nominating a friend or family member with a suggested donation of $50. 
      For more information, write to the address above, call 978-462-2973 or email kimkudym@comcast.net. 

Time to Water, Water, Water!!

   Summer is here and the need to water any recently planted trees and shrubs is crucial.  Regular watering after planting encourages the roots to establish faster.  The less established the tree, the quicker its rootball will dry out especially during times of high heat and drought.  The soil should be kept moist two inches below the surface which may require daily watering for young trees during their first two summers. Mulching is especially important during this time to help the soil retain its moisture.

Ruby showcasing our homemade double rain barrel system. Overflow from the barrel under the gutter spout funnels in to the second through a connecting PCV pipe. With both barrels we are able to water our houseplants and our new trees as well keep our kiddie (doggy) pool filled all spring and summer. Our water and sewer bill is amazingly low, even with the rate increases.

Cris Miller, chair of the Tree Commission, demonstrates how a Gator Bag works. The  bag zips up around the tree and has a 20 gallon pouch with tiny holes around the bottom edge. The water slowly drips onto the soil over a period of five or six hours, soaking to depth of the rootball. The bag should be refilled a minimum of twice a week, if not more when rainfall is scarce.

Twenty seven trees were planted a couple years ago at Kelleher Park and only eleven have survived due to insufficient watering. This spring, the Tree Commission placed a Gator Bag on each tree and volunteer Scott Hanley has agreed to fill the bags each week using the city's watering truck. 

There are at least eighty new street trees throughout the city that now require frequent watering. The city of Newburyport has hired a watering contractor, Mark Godfroy of Lady Tracey Ann, Inc to fulfill this task.  His Newburyport rounds take him a couple of hours, not including the time to refill the tanks to finish the job. 

Mark's assistant, Fonzy, at the Department of Public Works water pump fills up each of the two two hundred fifty gallon tanks on Mark's truck. Until now, they have been watering every two weeks. They will refill the Gator Bags weekly throughout July and August. 

This is Mark's first season working for Newburyport. He services several other towns and cities. 

Curious DPS employee

The first stop on the watering route is Perry Way. There are four new saplings across from the River Valley Charter School. 

Fonzy wishes there were Gator Bags back when he planted a Birch Tree in his yard. It was a hot summer and the tree didn't survive. 

Jim McCarthy came up with an ingenious setup to get water delivered to the Little River Nature Trail entrance on Storey Ave. He does not want this young White Oak to suffer the same fate as Fonzy's Birch Tree. Thanks to Jim's donation to Friends of Newburyport Trees, the Tree Commission was able to purchase and plant the oak this Spring.

Jim fills up the cooler with his garden hose at home and slides it to the edge of his truck to reach the Gator Bag.  He also uses this system to water his beautification project at the Rt. 1 Traffic Circle. 

 Above and beyond the cost of purchasing and planting each tree, $240 per tree is budgeted by the Tree Commission to water, prune and mulch it for two years. Friends of Newburyport Trees is a non-profit group that supports this effort of the Tree Commission with fund-raising, grants and individual contributions. Donations to FoNT can be sent to Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950 or through PayPal at  www.fontrees.org. Our supporters are encouraged to send in pictures of themselves, pets, friends and family posed with their favorite tree to add to our website as we begin to update it. For more information, contact kimkudym@comcast.net.